Can a literal bad apple actually spoil a barrel of good apples?

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• Can a literal bad apple actually spoil a barrel of good apples?
• How do sharks smell blood 0.4km away? Does a particle of blood travel to their nose through the water?
• If I was floating in the vacuum of space and I threw a credit card or a rock by me, would it orbit around me like a moon?
• How many derivatives are there?
• Could there be a branch of theoretical chemistry in 4 dimensions? (So chiralitically opposed substances are the same)?
• Is chirality an issue in synthetic chemicals meant for human consumption?
• What scientific project currently in operation or in development is most likely to discover complex on another planet?
• What is the maximum mass/size a Star can reach?
• What percentage of the sun's power gets to Earth?
• Prompted by the question about stars on the front page today, I'm wondering, is it possible for there to be a solar system with only planets? I.e., all planets in the system orbit around a much larger planet at the center?
• Are some forgotten memories forgotten forever?
• Can a dying star extend its life-span by absorbing another star?
• Can we have a mental limit of comprehending things just like we have a physical limit to which we can push our bodies to?
• What creates new cells after old cells undergo Apoptosis?
• Would early humans have had to cut their hair?
• Will a black-painted surface cool faster or slower at night compared to a white surface?
• How on earth did they start using laser eye surgery?
• Why is some ice cloudy and some ice clear, including the ice you make at home?
• Why was hydrogen concentrated in the centre of our Solar System during its creation? Wouldn't it escape the rotating accretion disc as it escapes Earth's atmosphere due to its rotation?
• where did the hellenic languages go ?
• When you say that the movement of the light source doesn't affect the light's speed, does that mean it is actually impossible the reduce/increase it or it means "the difference is too small to bother"?
• Do we have any pictures of the sun from different planets?
• What makes us build up a tolerance to substances like alcohol, and what makes lowers it when we stop consuming?

Can a literal bad apple actually spoil a barrel of good apples? Posted: 20 Mar 2016 03:09 PM PDT I know the saying of how all it takes is one bad apple, but is that actually true? Can a rotten apple ruin a barrel of good apples? submitted by /u/Mr_Times [link] [comments]

How do sharks smell blood 0.4km away? Does a particle of blood travel to their nose through the water? Posted: 20 Mar 2016 07:49 PM PDT Or is it a misconception that to smell something means that a particle from the source of the smell needs to have entered your olfactory system? submitted by /u/ryan-a [link] [comments]

If I was floating in the vacuum of space and I threw a credit card or a rock by me, would it orbit around me like a moon? Posted: 20 Mar 2016 07:48 PM PDT submitted by /u/lordzxil [link] [comments]

How many derivatives are there? Posted: 21 Mar 2016 04:56 AM PDT Say we start with an object, and its position. The derivative of that would be the rate of change of its position, or its velocity. The derivative of that would be acceleration. This is where most high school physics classes stop. But I'm sure that it is near impossible to go from no force applied to an object, to say 10lbs of force instantly. So there must be a derivative of acceleration. How far back will this go before the derivative is equal to 0? submitted by /u/Solzo [link] [comments]

Could there be a branch of theoretical chemistry in 4 dimensions? (So chiralitically opposed substances are the same)? Posted: 21 Mar 2016 02:08 AM PDT As the title suggests, or would it simply mean that some compounds or mixes of compounds couldn't exist? Please pardon my poor terminology. submitted by /u/Scott_MacGregor [link] [comments]

Is chirality an issue in synthetic chemicals meant for human consumption? Posted: 20 Mar 2016 06:17 PM PDT I'm wondering, as the title says, if chirality matters for synthetic chemicals. Or at all, I guess. submitted by /u/DropAdigit [link] [comments]

What scientific project currently in operation or in development is most likely to discover complex on another planet? Posted: 21 Mar 2016 06:03 AM PDT submitted by /u/whollymoly [link] [comments]

What is the maximum mass/size a Star can reach? Posted: 21 Mar 2016 05:56 AM PDT If there is no limit to the answer of this question, how can stars have a limit on the amount of light they produce but not the mass they can be made of? Would this mean a smaller Star can produce more light than a bigger one at the peak of their light emitting life? submitted by /u/kris118212 [link] [comments]

What percentage of the sun's power gets to Earth? Posted: 20 Mar 2016 03:51 PM PDT I understand that much of it isn't absorbed. That may affect the answer to my second question. How many Earths could be potentially supported by our star if all energy was used? Question came up in my mind by thinking of the possible power from a Dyson Sphere. submitted by /u/skellera [link] [comments]

Prompted by the question about stars on the front page today, I'm wondering, is it possible for there to be a solar system with only planets? I.e., all planets in the system orbit around a much larger planet at the center? Posted: 20 Mar 2016 02:01 PM PDT submitted by /u/perceptio15 [link] [comments]

Are some forgotten memories forgotten forever? Posted: 21 Mar 2016 04:55 AM PDT I was wondering about this, we make memories all the time. But we fail to remember quite a bit of them. Most of them in fact, I think. So, are some of those memories lost forever? Or can they all be recovered given the proper method or tools? How about memories of a young child? submitted by /u/m1l4droid [link] [comments]

Can a dying star extend its life-span by absorbing another star? Posted: 21 Mar 2016 03:01 AM PDT Can a white dwarf star absorb another star to either extend its life as a white dwarf, or regenerate back to a red/yellow/blue star? Can a neutron star do the same? Or would the particles simply break down to neutrons? Would red giants shrink after absorbing a blue star, due to the new supply of hydrogen? Would they change color at all? submitted by /u/devilmonk [link] [comments]

Can we have a mental limit of comprehending things just like we have a physical limit to which we can push our bodies to? Posted: 20 Mar 2016 11:12 AM PDT I mean is there a point where there is no more knowledge to be ascertained because we are mentally incapable to understand it? submitted by /u/betaimsorry [link] [comments]

What creates new cells after old cells undergo Apoptosis? Posted: 21 Mar 2016 02:24 AM PDT I understand the process of the destruction of a cell (in relation to sunburn), just not what happens after the cells destruction. Thanks x submitted by /u/CatAdiz [link] [comments]

Would early humans have had to cut their hair? Posted: 20 Mar 2016 12:11 PM PDT In modern day, human hair is capable of getting ridiculously long. However, if you look at animals, most have fur that doesn't grow beyond a certain length. Would early humans and/or Neanderthals shared this trait, or would their hair be capable of growing as long as ours? Setting aside the social significance of haircuts, it doesn't seem particularly convenient to be running around with huge masses of hair. submitted by /u/RipHunterIsMyCopilot [link] [comments]

Will a black-painted surface cool faster or slower at night compared to a white surface? Posted: 20 Mar 2016 07:53 PM PDT I know sunlight is better absorbed by black surfaces, and they warm up faster and hotter in the daytime. But what effect (if any) would color have on nighttime cooling? submitted by /u/Sam5253 [link] [comments]

How on earth did they start using laser eye surgery? Posted: 20 Mar 2016 11:14 PM PDT They cut your eye open and shoot lasers at it; how did they get to the stage of being so confident it worked that they were willing to attempt something so dangerous on a real person for the first time, all whilst not being able to test it for real? submitted by /u/PolskaLFC93 [link] [comments]

Why is some ice cloudy and some ice clear, including the ice you make at home? Posted: 20 Mar 2016 01:08 PM PDT Is it something to do with air? submitted by /u/UntrustingFool [link] [comments]

Why was hydrogen concentrated in the centre of our Solar System during its creation? Wouldn't it escape the rotating accretion disc as it escapes Earth's atmosphere due to its rotation? Posted: 21 Mar 2016 05:06 AM PDT An additional question: What caused the gas giants to form further away from the centre? submitted by /u/dorothyspa [link] [comments]

where did the hellenic languages go ? Posted: 21 Mar 2016 04:36 AM PDT title, greece is the only variation left my guess is that it dissapeard when the turks came rolling in with the mongols in what is now turkey. i got the theory from looking at this map where you can see that in turkey they dont speak an indo-european language but they do in india submitted by /u/coltblod [link] [comments]

When you say that the movement of the light source doesn't affect the light's speed, does that mean it is actually impossible the reduce/increase it or it means "the difference is too small to bother"? Posted: 20 Mar 2016 04:45 PM PDT submitted by /u/Baby-exDannyBoy [link] [comments]

Do we have any pictures of the sun from different planets? Posted: 20 Mar 2016 08:26 PM PDT I have tried looking all over the web but can not find any real pictures, only artist impressions. submitted by /u/Ametam2 [link] [comments]

What makes us build up a tolerance to substances like alcohol, and what makes lowers it when we stop consuming? Posted: 20 Mar 2016 02:59 PM PDT Title says it all really. submitted by /u/MGsubbie [link] [comments]

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Could a smaller star get pulled into the gravitational pull of a larger star and be stuck in its orbit much like a planet?

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• Could a smaller star get pulled into the gravitational pull of a larger star and be stuck in its orbit much like a planet?
• By how much is the Earth's magnetic field decaying yearly?
• Why does the right hand rule works on a lot of things? Is this a coincidence?
• Will the curvature of my spoon's edge always be able to match the side of my yogurt cup so I get a clean scrape?
• Is there a spectrum to psychopathy as there is to autism or are you either a psychopath or not one at all?
• [Physics] Do bullets fired from rifled barrels eventually curve one way or the other due to their rotation?
• If a magnetic radio isotope within a strong magnetic field decays into a non magnetic element, where does the energy from the field go?
• Does one's perception of time change the rate at which the body ages?
• Why can I reverse "dead" batteries in my remote and get months of extra life out of them?
• If I was well enough insulated, could I survive on Pluto just using my body's heat?
• Naked mole rats are highly social animals, and since they are not endothermic, their colonies sleep communally together. Since this is a recipe for plagues, what pathogens are known to afflict them?
• Why would a thinner layer of compound mixture be better at the start of column chromatography?
• Can a given function be expressed as another unique function? If so how does one find these overlaps?
• How can electrons have an energy of 18 keV in Tritium beta decay if their mass is already 511 keV?
• What would happen to a small CD player in zero-g?
• [chemistry] Are there any acids that work by absorbing hydroxide rather than donating protons?
• Since space-time is curved, will travelling far enough return you to your point of origin?
• Does collagen have a tertiary structure?
• What would we experience if a gamma ray burst were to strike Earth?
• Using nuclear fusion, how much fuel would it take to accelerate to half light speed and then come to a stop? Specific scenario from "The Physics of Star Trek"
• Does energy have mass?
• Can PTSD permanently alter your body's physiological reactions to daily stressors (i.e. affect the nervous system to make someone hyper-aware of physical sensations beyond what a person would typically perceive)?

Could a smaller star get pulled into the gravitational pull of a larger star and be stuck in its orbit much like a planet? Posted: 20 Mar 2016 05:47 AM PDT submitted by /u/LloydVonStrangle [link] [comments]

By how much is the Earth's magnetic field decaying yearly? Posted: 19 Mar 2016 07:33 PM PDT submitted by /u/Greg-2012 [link] [comments]

Why does the right hand rule works on a lot of things? Is this a coincidence? Posted: 20 Mar 2016 02:32 AM PDT Im talking about angular momentum, magnetic field due to current, magnetic filed in a solenoid. submitted by /u/AssFuck6969 [link] [comments]

Will the curvature of my spoon's edge always be able to match the side of my yogurt cup so I get a clean scrape? Posted: 19 Mar 2016 09:11 PM PDT So imagine this (some of you may have noticed it before): You're eating your favorite yogurt, and you get to the end. So you're scraping every bit out you can with your spoon. As you're scraping the sides, you notice you can tilt your spoon in such a way that the edge matches the curvature of the truncated cone (that might be a made up term, correct me if I'm wrong). With this match, you can cleanly scrape all the yogurt [in a pass of a certain thickness] off the sides of the cup. So my question: Is this always the case? Can every spoon match every yogurt cup at some angle? Also, does this have anything to do with parabolas being conic sections? Edit(s): in [brackets] Was bored today/many many days as work... Thanks! submitted by /u/schweizerew [link] [comments]

Is there a spectrum to psychopathy as there is to autism or are you either a psychopath or not one at all? Posted: 19 Mar 2016 08:01 PM PDT submitted by /u/M3GADOOM [link] [comments]

[Physics] Do bullets fired from rifled barrels eventually curve one way or the other due to their rotation? Posted: 19 Mar 2016 08:20 AM PDT I am aware that various environmental factors, such as temperature, wind, elevation, etc. could all affect a bullet's path, but does the rifling itself also have an impact on the trajectory? submitted by /u/SuperBruan [link] [comments]

If a magnetic radio isotope within a strong magnetic field decays into a non magnetic element, where does the energy from the field go? Posted: 20 Mar 2016 02:35 AM PDT Also, as a follow on, does the presence of the field alter the chances of or outcome of decay? submitted by /u/hob196 [link] [comments]

Does one's perception of time change the rate at which the body ages? Posted: 19 Mar 2016 07:04 PM PDT If someone was on a planet orbiting a black hole, and someone was on Earth, would their bodies age at the same rate or would they age at different rates? submitted by /u/BobTheJoeFred [link] [comments]

Why can I reverse "dead" batteries in my remote and get months of extra life out of them? Posted: 19 Mar 2016 10:18 AM PDT when the batteries in my remote control die, I swap the positions and my remote works for a couple months, then I switch them again and get a couple more months. I have done this about five times with the same two AA batteries. submitted by /u/mpq222 [link] [comments]

If I was well enough insulated, could I survive on Pluto just using my body's heat? Posted: 19 Mar 2016 11:54 AM PDT Like in a 6 foot bubble of the best down or aerogel or something? submitted by /u/maybe-tomorrow [link] [comments]

Naked mole rats are highly social animals, and since they are not endothermic, their colonies sleep communally together. Since this is a recipe for plagues, what pathogens are known to afflict them? Posted: 19 Mar 2016 06:44 AM PDT submitted by /u/adlerchen [link] [comments]

Why would a thinner layer of compound mixture be better at the start of column chromatography? Posted: 19 Mar 2016 08:33 AM PDT I was told that it had something to do with the effective separation of the components in that mixture but i could not reason it out with myself. submitted by /u/Dpgg94 [link] [comments]

Can a given function be expressed as another unique function? If so how does one find these overlaps? Posted: 19 Mar 2016 01:34 PM PDT I was wondering since there is an infinite amount of functions possible, there must be certain intervals in completely different functions that are almost identical. For example, are there polynomials (in terms of x) that are identical/similar to ln(x), ex , sin(x), cos (x), etc.? How are these found...by chance? By the way, I am a high school student so consider that when explaining your responses. Thanks submitted by /u/Teeaamzz [link] [comments]

How can electrons have an energy of 18 keV in Tritium beta decay if their mass is already 511 keV? Posted: 20 Mar 2016 03:56 AM PDT Isn't the minimum energy of the electron the energy from its mass, E = mc2 ? submitted by /u/ricola-ninja [link] [comments]

What would happen to a small CD player in zero-g? Posted: 19 Mar 2016 10:15 AM PDT If I were to power up a portable CD player in zero-g, would it start to spin in the opposite direction to the CD? submitted by /u/bluekrill_ [link] [comments]

[chemistry] Are there any acids that work by absorbing hydroxide rather than donating protons? Posted: 19 Mar 2016 05:25 PM PDT submitted by /u/Hiephoohallo [link] [comments]

Since space-time is curved, will travelling far enough return you to your point of origin? Posted: 19 Mar 2016 02:13 PM PDT And if so, how far would you have to travel? submitted by /u/bobhwantstoknow [link] [comments]

Does collagen have a tertiary structure? Posted: 19 Mar 2016 10:26 AM PDT From my understanding, fibrous collagen's primary structure is Gly-X-Y, where X is often Pro and Y Hyp. Its secondary structure is a narrow left-handed helix. Three strands of this polypeptide helix come together to form the right-handed helix tropocollagen, which is a quaternary structure as the strands are separate polypeptides. Is this accurate? If so, is there a definite tertiary structure for the molecule? Can it be distinguished from the secondary structure? submitted by /u/chuckcuhc [link] [comments]

What would we experience if a gamma ray burst were to strike Earth? Posted: 19 Mar 2016 04:22 AM PDT Im talking about a worst case scenario, if we were directly hit from nearby. I know we would be killed pretty quickly. Would we all just drop dead instantly? Would we see anything unusual happening like trees suddenly igniting or some other extreme immediate change in the physical world? Would it effectively sterilize the planet and kill every last living cell? And if so ... would everything just remain exactly as is since there's no bacteria to break down anything? Would the ocean floor be affected? submitted by /u/trav110 [link] [comments]

Using nuclear fusion, how much fuel would it take to accelerate to half light speed and then come to a stop? Specific scenario from "The Physics of Star Trek" Posted: 19 Mar 2016 04:55 PM PDT Hi everyone, So, maybe I'm missing something really simple here, but I'll ask at the risk of looking like a moron anyways. I just started reading "The Physics of Star Trek." On page 25, it says: (The impulse drive) is powered instead by nuclear fusion--the same nuclear reaction that powers the Sun by turning hydrogen into helium. In fusion reactions, about 1 percent of the available mass is converted into energy. With this much available energy, the helium atoms that are produced can come streaming out the back of the rocket at about an eighth of the speed of light. Using this exhaust velocity for the propellant, we then can calculate the amount of fuel the Enterprise needs in order to accelerate to, say, half the speed of light. The calculation is not difficult, but I will just give the answer here. It may surprise you. Each time the Enterprise accelerates to half the speed of light, it must burn 81 TIMES ITS ENTIRE MASS in hydrogen fuel. Given that a Galaxy Class starship such as Picard's Enterprise-D would weigh in excess of 4 million metric tons, this means that over 300 million metric tons of fuel would need to be used each time the impulse drive is used to accelerate the ship to half light speed. So far so good. But then he goes on to say: It gets worse. The calculation I described above is correct for a single acceleration. To bring the ship to a stop at its destination would require the same factor of 81 times its mass in fuel. This means that just to go somewhere at half light speed and stop again would require fuel in the amount of 81 X 81 = 6561 TIMES THE ENTIRE SHIP'S MASS! And this is where he lost me. Why would it be 81 X 81 instead of 81 x 2? Wouldn't it be 81 times the mass of the ship to start once, and 81 times the mass of the ship to stop once? I thought maybe it was because of relative mass (object becomes heavier the closer it gets to light speed) but the calculator I found for that didn't seem to bear that out. Apologies if I made a fundamental math error here or something. Just not getting this. submitted by /u/zombiecurse [link] [comments]

Does energy have mass? Posted: 19 Mar 2016 11:17 AM PDT I remember when I visited CERN with my school, they told us about how the Hydrogen cores that accelerate while on the LHC can have almost infinite mass, due to them moving at nearly the speed of light. So I'd like to have a quick answer, please. submitted by /u/tasos500 [link] [comments]

Can PTSD permanently alter your body's physiological reactions to daily stressors (i.e. affect the nervous system to make someone hyper-aware of physical sensations beyond what a person would typically perceive)? Posted: 19 Mar 2016 07:02 AM PDT Anxiety forums typically spring up when querying about randomized physical sensations, particularly in the head. Would these be psychosomatic or actual sensations a "normal" person just wouldn't notice? Because their nervous system isn't always on alert? submitted by /u/hellraiser9164 [link] [comments]

You are subscribed to email updates from AskScience: Got Questions? Get Answers.. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States

Will a gyroscope suspended in the air for a long time eventually turn upside down 12 hours later, because it doesn't rotate with the Earth's rotation?

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• Will a gyroscope suspended in the air for a long time eventually turn upside down 12 hours later, because it doesn't rotate with the Earth's rotation?
• When research shows some people share 2-4% of their DNA with Neanderthals, what DNA are they talking about?
• Does the placenta have the DNA of the mother or the baby? What about the umbilical cord?
• AskScience AMA Series: Scientists are on board the R/V JOIDES Resolution for two months to drill in four different sites along the eastern coast of Africa to study one of the largest “rivers in the sea” and its implications on past climate, Ask Us Anything!
• Theoretical gravitational forces in center of earth?
• Does the colour of your eye affect it's sensitivity to light?
• Would it be theoretically possible to build a "photon engine" for spaceships?
• Why don't whales and other marine animals get the bends while surfacing quickly?
• How do some predators know the vulnerable spots of prey animals?
• How is water collected?
• How large would your field of view of the surface be if earth was completely flat and clear of objects blocking your view?
• Why did it take more than two decades for Andrew Wiles to win the Abel Prize for solving Fermat's Last Theorem?
• What is Phase Detection Auto Focus (PDAF) and what it seems a superior technology for camera?
• What's the difference between a regular quad core PC and a workstation with two dual cores?
• Given a function, can we tell if we recursively take its derivative if it will eventually resolve to a real number?
• Why are oranges, garlic, etc. separated into edible cloves?
• How "terminal" is terminal velocity?
• Why do mixed race people tend to be somewhere between white and black instead of either white or black?
• How big can a crystal get?
• If I'm in a car going at 100kmph, and I see another car going the opposite direction at the same speed, will it be the same if there's a stationary car and me going at 200kmph ?
• How can a molecule be polar, but hydrophobic?
• How does Blancco erase SSD's? I thought you couldn't erase SSD's.

Will a gyroscope suspended in the air for a long time eventually turn upside down 12 hours later, because it doesn't rotate with the Earth's rotation? Posted: 19 Mar 2016 12:05 AM PDT what will happen submitted by /u/butthead [link] [comments]

When research shows some people share 2-4% of their DNA with Neanderthals, what DNA are they talking about? Posted: 18 Mar 2016 08:31 AM PDT I read in an article recently that some people share 2-4% of their DNA with Neanderthals. However, we also share loads of DNA (>95% IIRC) with less similar species such as Chimpanzees. So, when we say we share 2-4% of DNA with Neanderthals, is that only some part of our DNA that is measured separately, like repetitive sequences? submitted by /u/Fnottrobald [link] [comments]

Does the placenta have the DNA of the mother or the baby? What about the umbilical cord? Posted: 18 Mar 2016 09:15 AM PDT submitted by /u/14thMarines [link] [comments]

AskScience AMA Series: Scientists are on board the R/V JOIDES Resolution for two months to drill in four different sites along the eastern coast of Africa to study one of the largest “rivers in the sea” and its implications on past climate, Ask Us Anything! Posted: 18 Mar 2016 09:11 AM PDT The International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) conducts scientific ocean drilling expeditions throughout the world's oceans in search of clues to Earth's structure and past. The current expedition is Expedition 361: Southern African Climates, aboard the U.S. vessel for scientific ocean drilling, the JOIDES Resolution (www.joidesresolution.org). The Agulhas Current carries an enormous quantity of really salty, really warm water southward along the east African coast. Most of this water flow curls back around at the southern tip of Africa to stay in the Indian Ocean, contributing indirectly to the monsoon season. However, 20-25% of the current leaks westward into the southern Atlantic Ocean in massive swirls, known as the Agulhas rings. The heat dissipates quickly, but the salt remains, keeping the surface salinity relatively high. High salt content causes high water density, and this slightly denser water can make its way into the North Atlantic via the Gulf Stream, where it eventually cools further and sinks, transporting more water northward and maintaining the global conveyer belt of ocean currents in a process that is known to influence northwest European and global climate change. Recent studies point to an increase in Agulhas leakage over the last 30 years or so, caused primarily by human-induced climate change. This discovery is important, because it suggests that increased Agulhas leakage could help maintain the Atlantic conveyor circulation, at a time when warming and accelerated freshwater input into the North Atlantic (from the melting Greenland ice sheet) has been predicted to weaken it. Likewise, paleoceanographic studies also provide exciting evidence from sediment cores suggesting that leakage from the Agulhas Current - in other words, the exchange of warm salty water between the Indian and Atlantic - has been involved in large global climate swings over the past 100,000 years. The most recent example is the drastic global warming that occurred after the last ice age. By examining Expedition 361 sediment cores in detail, we expect to find evidence of how the Agulhas Current has influenced the regional and global climate over much longer timescales of the Plio-Pleistocene (0-5 million years ago), and therefore detail how connections within the climate system operate. This has implications for understanding how the future climate system may operate in a warming world. A team of 30 scientists from around the globe are on board for two months to work on these questions. Hand-in-hand with the amazing technology required to drill deep into the ocean floor, we are collecting the core samples that hold clues to answer these questions. Join us to ask us anything about this intriguing science, how we got here, what we hope to discover, and our lives on board the ship! We'll be back at 5pm EST to answer your questions, AMA! submitted by /u/IODP [link] [comments]

Theoretical gravitational forces in center of earth? Posted: 18 Mar 2016 07:00 PM PDT In the very center of the earth, if there were to be a hollowed out sphere, would an object be floating or pulled apart from all sides? What would happen to it? submitted by /u/m00tchacho [link] [comments]

Does the colour of your eye affect it's sensitivity to light? Posted: 19 Mar 2016 06:25 AM PDT Wondering if blue eyes are more sensitive than brown eyes for example. submitted by /u/Cuziman43 [link] [comments]

Would it be theoretically possible to build a "photon engine" for spaceships? Posted: 18 Mar 2016 01:31 PM PDT Solar sails exploit the momentum of solar photons as a propellant, but what if we tried to build a photon engine (basically a big laser)? Tsiolkovsky rocket equation says delta-v is proportional to exhaust velocity, which photons certainly have a lot of. It is also dependant on mass, which photons don't have, but they have momentum. So my question is: would a laser of adequate power and size be able to exhert a force on an object like a small space probe in an inertial frame of reference? submitted by /u/PsychoticLime [link] [comments]

Why don't whales and other marine animals get the bends while surfacing quickly? Posted: 18 Mar 2016 02:12 PM PDT In the case of humans, surfacing too quickly is catastrophic, and can lead to a whole slew of problems but this doesn't seem to be the case in marine animals like this whale why not? submitted by /u/Smellvin [link] [comments]

How do some predators know the vulnerable spots of prey animals? Posted: 18 Mar 2016 01:05 PM PDT I'm thinking here of big cats, such as lions and leopards, but I'm sure this occurs in non-feline predators, too. In most nature documentaries, you see lions taking down a zebra by going for the neck, and then sometimes holding the zebra's mouth and nose shut to stop its breathing. How do lions know to do that? Eons of watching their parents do the same? How did this practice evolve in the first place? submitted by /u/bigdamnhero2511 [link] [comments]

How is water collected? Posted: 18 Mar 2016 07:07 AM PDT How is water extracted from Oceans and Seas on industrial scales? Or maybe what's the term used for that sort of thing so I can look it up? I wanted to learn about the potential impacts of this behaviour on the environment. submitted by /u/Nottabird_Nottaplane [link] [comments]

How large would your field of view of the surface be if earth was completely flat and clear of objects blocking your view? Posted: 19 Mar 2016 01:42 AM PDT With flat I dont mean flat earth I mean globe without mountains and valleys For an average high person that is standing still, up, and can look around 360 degrees. submitted by /u/slowbrowsersarefunny [link] [comments]

Why did it take more than two decades for Andrew Wiles to win the Abel Prize for solving Fermat's Last Theorem? Posted: 18 Mar 2016 11:11 AM PDT This was one of the most famous problems and events in Mathematics, so I'm wondering what took so long. submitted by /u/Robotman1974 [link] [comments]

What is Phase Detection Auto Focus (PDAF) and what it seems a superior technology for camera? Posted: 18 Mar 2016 07:34 AM PDT I was trying to understand what is PDAF. I kinda know that most phones don't have PDAF, and what is that? submitted by /u/aifrantz [link] [comments]

What's the difference between a regular quad core PC and a workstation with two dual cores? Posted: 18 Mar 2016 01:35 PM PDT submitted by /u/___JessePinkman__ [link] [comments]

Given a function, can we tell if we recursively take its derivative if it will eventually resolve to a real number? Posted: 18 Mar 2016 12:18 PM PDT A couple college calculus courses are the extent of my mathematics education, so I'm not sure of the correct terminology, but if I have function f(x), and I take the first derivative f'(x), and then the second derivative f''(x), and so on, can I always tell if I will eventually arrive at a real number? Obviously many functions can just be resolved or shown to resolve to some pattern (like sin(x)), but are there some functions which may never resolve? What got me thinking about this is the expansion of the universe. Through observation we know the universe is expanding and the expansion is accelerating. I know we don't have an equation to describe it because we don't understand it, but if we did then could we definitely tell if the acceleration is speeding up or slowing down? What about if the acceleration of the acceleration is speeding up or slowing down, etc? Would we be able to definitively tell if the acceleration may slow down and reverse into deceleration and therefore tell if the universe will eventually contract (big crunch)? Purely hypothetical and, yes, these are the types of things I think about for fun. submitted by /u/we_are_all_stupid [link] [comments]

Why are oranges, garlic, etc. separated into edible cloves? Posted: 18 Mar 2016 09:43 AM PDT As I understand it, most fruits/herbs/vegetables/plants strive for survival and reproduction. Are these any different? Have this behavior benefited them in any way, historically? Thanks in advance! submitted by /u/maow45 [link] [comments]

How "terminal" is terminal velocity? Posted: 18 Mar 2016 11:05 AM PDT I was thinking and remembered that the pull of gravity (of a large object such as earth) gets stronger as you get closer to the center. Does this mean that the acceleration of something falling is accelerating, meaning it's experiencing a jerk? And if this is true, then how can terminal velocity exist is there is a constant increase in force? submitted by /u/TheWierdAsianKid [link] [comments]

Why do mixed race people tend to be somewhere between white and black instead of either white or black? Posted: 18 Mar 2016 01:00 PM PDT I would imagine there would have to be different alleles to control skin colour for this to be possible? Or perhaps different alleles for the mechanisms that produce melanin? submitted by /u/FuzzBall99 [link] [comments]

How big can a crystal get? Posted: 18 Mar 2016 12:15 PM PDT I'm sure many of us have heard about some planets being discovered that could basically be giant diamonds. (And that's a whole other complicated can of worms, but let's not open it here.) I think a lot of people probably hear "diamond" and think that this is the type of thing where you'd be able to see some sort of crystaline structure from space - facets, planes, etc. I assume that that's not possible, because that would require the crystals to form at a massive scale. However, I don't actually know if my assumption is correct, nor why. What prompted this line of thinking was a discussion in another sub where an obviously-altered image of the Omega/Swan/Horseshoe nebula was being (needlessly) debunked by Phil Plait. It's clearly fake, but it got me wondering how large a crystal formation can actually get. There are those amazing ones in the Cave of the Crystals, though obviously there's a huge difference between a crystal that's 39ft tall and one that's 15 light-years tall. Is there an upper-boundary for how big a crystal can get? Gravity and mass are probably the biggest factors, of course. And even if you had the material and conditions to form a 15 light-year tall crystal formation, the mass would probably collapse into a black hole. But let's speculate a little. Could a mile-long crystal exist, for example? If we ignored mass and/or gravity (except for what is needed for crystal formation in the first place), and assumed a limitless supply of source material, could a crystal theoretically grow forever? I really don't know anything about crystallography, or even anything beyond the most basic mineralogy. (I'm a web designer.) I apologize if I'm using terms incorrectly. Thanks! submitted by /u/BevansDesign [link] [comments]

If I'm in a car going at 100kmph, and I see another car going the opposite direction at the same speed, will it be the same if there's a stationary car and me going at 200kmph ? Posted: 18 Mar 2016 04:36 PM PDT That may sound very stupid, and it probably is. I was the the bus watching cars going by on the other side of the road, and asked myself "If I'm going at 100kmph, and they go at the same speed, will I see them the same way as if they weren't moving at all, but I was going at 200kmph ?" Sorry about my grammar, and also my lack of science knowledge, haven't done a single science class in over a year now. submitted by /u/Etoribio_ [link] [comments]

How can a molecule be polar, but hydrophobic? Posted: 18 Mar 2016 09:38 AM PDT Lookin' at you, PLA. submitted by /u/yayaBamboo [link] [comments]

How does Blancco erase SSD's? I thought you couldn't erase SSD's. Posted: 18 Mar 2016 04:40 AM PDT securely erase SSDs http://www.blancco.com/en/technology-solutions/secure-data-erasure/high-volume-erasure/5 submitted by /u/seriouslyliterally [link] [comments]

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